


when worlds collide (a kid icarus x botw fanfic)

by heavenly_chrysanthemum



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 新・光神話 パルテナの鏡 | Kid Icarus: Uprising (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, My First AO3 Post, Post-Calamity Ganon, i'll add more tags as i write more, pls be gentle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-16 12:54:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,891
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28831533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heavenly_chrysanthemum/pseuds/heavenly_chrysanthemum
Summary: In the beginning of rebuilding Hyrule post-calamity, Princess Zelda and Link find an unexpected visitor: a strange winged Hylian claiming to be from the heavens. When the goddess and the hero reincarnate cross paths with the right-hand man of heaven's ruler, a strange friendship (and also a terrible brewing evil) blossom.A princess. Her knight. An angel. And the complicated threads of fate and destiny that were never meant to be crossed.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first work on ao3 and the first fanfic I've written in about four years! Yikes. I adore both Kid Icarus: Uprising and Breath of the Wild, so this is just some sort of self-indulgent fic I suppose! I hope you enjoy :)

It had been one month since the calamity had passed. Hyrule was still a shadow of its former self, evolved into something new over the past hundred years. News of the calamity’s defeat spread all throughout the kingdom, and morale rose significantly. Zelda took it upon herself to start rebuilding her broken kingdom. She knew it was no easy feat to build up the kingdom again, but seeing the people of Hyrule so joyful fueled determination within her. In the coming days, Zelda led the reconstruction process with Link at her side, working with different construction workers, builders, and shop owners.

Rebuilding the castle would be the last thing on the agenda, the princess said. The castle was not nearly as necessary as new housing, shops, and cleanup crews. In the meantime, Zelda decided to stay with Link at his newly bought home in Hateno Village. 

“Most of Hyrule field has been cleared of rubbish and debris, so we can start construction as early as tomorrow!” Zelda exclaimed excitedly at dinner. “Bolson has drawn up a lovely mock-up of a re-imagined castle town. Things should be back to normal in no time. Can you believe it?” 

Link nodded, acknowledging her excitement. He kept his mouth full with a spoonful of meat and rice. He didn’t feel like talking, even after he had done his duty of sealing the calamity away. It didn’t seem right to him. While Zelda was ready to jump right back into royal duties, Link wasn’t so enthusiastic.

“How have the new soldiers been? I’ve been receiving word from almost all corners of Hyrule except the very one I’m in!” Zelda laughed lightly, trying to get a rise out of Link. Her question was met with a blank, almost solemn look.

“Fine,” Link said, his voice quiet. “Nebb is...energetic...as always.” 

Zelda frowned. “Link,” she asked, her voice tender, “is something wrong? You’ve been acting a little down lately.” She watched her knight intently, searching for any sign of an explanation.

Link shrugged. It was too much to explain, and he didn’t have the energy to tell. “It’s okay. I’m just tired.”

The princess leaned back slightly in her chair. “I see.” Zelda knew he was lying, but she didn’t want to push the subject. As much as she wanted to swoop in and coddle her knight and make all of his problems go away, she knew it wasn’t possible. She sighed internally. “Well, I don’t blame you. I can’t imagine how much exercise you get each day! Go on and rest. I’ll be working here if you need me.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Link replied, shoving another mouthful of food into his mouth. “I was going to chop down some more wood. We’re running out.” He took one last bite and cleaned his bowl, making sure to get every single grain of rice. 

“Now? But it’s starting to get dark…” 

Link straightened up and went to fetch a double-sided axe. “It’ll be alright. I won’t be out long.”

“Be careful out there, okay?” Zelda turned towards him. “Please come back soon.”

“Of course, Princess,” Link replied, a mischievous look in his eyes. Zelda rolled her eyes at him, and she was met with a teasing bow. Zelda insisted that Link just call her “Zelda,” but “you’re still my princess” wasn’t exactly an argument she could refute. All she could do was get slightly annoyed in a fond sort of way. Link closed the door behind him, and as the door shut, Zelda sighed. 

“Oh, Hylia,” Zelda muttered to herself, poking at the food Link had prepared, “please bring back Link’s smile. Please. If anyone were to deserve happiness, it would be him.” Her food had grown cold, but she still took a few more bites before setting her bowl beside Link’s. A wave of dread washed over her when she eyed a stack of paper lying on the other side of the table. Pages and pages of trade agreements, construction blueprints, and proposals stared the princess down. She sighed. Link may have his work cut out for him with his responsibility to rebuild Hyrule’s army almost single-handedly, but Zelda had her fair share of work to do, too. 

Zelda took a deep breath and dove into the first stack of work. Construction for certain structures required ore from Death Mountain, but Goron City was much too dangerous for Hylians. Either the rebuilding efforts needed to provide enough fireproof elixirs or armor for each Hylian willing to make the trek up the volcano, or the castle needed to hire Gorons to mine the ore for them. Zelda decided the latter was probably more realistic and cost efficient, so she began to write up a proposal to submit to Bludo. 

All of a sudden, a loud crash rang through the house. The walls shook for a split second, rattling the picture frames and the vases Link placed around the house. Zelda yelped and threw her pen across the room. 

“Dear Hylia, what was that?” Her eyes darted towards the door, but it remained closed. Zelda scanned the house for anything that could’ve gone awry, but nothing seemed to be wrong. 

“Could it have come from outside?” Zelda thought to herself aloud. 

In a flash, Zelda snatched the Sheikah Slate from the table and burst out the door. The chill of the evening hit her unexpectedly, perking her awake. She looked left and right for any sign of her knight. 

“Where did the sound come from?” she muttered. She walked around the house near where the apple tree stood, making a mental note to have Link shoot down the apples with his master sword beam. 

As she approached the tree, she saw a shadow. Immediately she pressed herself against the side of the house to hide. Heart pounding in her chest, zelda summoned a round remote bomb and held it behind her back. 

Slowly, Zelda crept up to the shadow, ready to chuck the bomb at any moment. She was alone, and Link wasn’t here to save her in case things went south. The princess steeled her gaze and crept slowly and carefully towards the shadow. The figure was still, but Zelda knew better than to let her guard down in such a vulnerable state. 

The fading sky made it difficult to make out any features of the mysterious figure, but from what Zelda could observe, it wasn’t moving. She held out the bomb in front of her and approached the shadow, hoping to use the blue glow to get a better look. 

“Hello?” Zelda asked the darkness, holding the bomb out further. 

The darkness stayed silent. 

“Huh?” Zelda held the bomb right up to the figure’s face. This mysterious visitor seemed to be a Hylian, with hair and skin the same as humans Sporting a white tunic and brown sandals, they seemed normal enough. That was until Zelda saw wings. White, feathery, angelic wings. 

“Who...what...what might you be?” Zelda gasped, raising a hand to feel the stranger’s wings as if in a trance. The feathers looked softer than an average Rito’s. She gently felt the wings, the light, delicate feathers brushing against her fingers. The princess looked on in awe. 

The person seemed to have tumbled and taken a fall, bouncing off of the roof of the house and crashing right near the apple tree. Most notably of all, it seemed unresponsive. 

Zelda grabbed the strange Hylian’s arm and began pulling them towards the front of the house. She didn’t quite have the physical strength of her chosen knight, so the body barely moved an inch. “Oh Hylia,” Zelda mumbled. “How will I ever move you-”

The sudden thud thud thud of boots made Zelda whip her head around. Link was running towards her, a couple bundles of wood in his arms and an extremely worried look on his face. He chucked the wood towards the stable and closed the gap. “Z-Zelda…” he panted, trying to catch his breath. “W-What’s going on? Are you alright?”

Zelda turned towards him. “I heard a crash on the roof. I came outside and I saw this. It seems like some sort of Hylian-Rito breed, of sorts. Perhaps we should bring them inside. I don’t think it wise to alert the neighbors.”

“Of course,” Link nodded, beckoning her to move aside. He slid one arm under the strange creature’s knees and the other under its armpits and lifted them up with ease. The figure’s head lolled over to the side, but Link didn’t seem to notice. Zelda pushed the door open to let her knight into the house. Once inside, Link scanned around the house to see where to deposit their new guest. 

“Over here, Link,” Zelda called to him, waving him over to a small cranny under the staircase. “I can clear out this little space right here and put a blanket.” Link only hummed in response and watched his princess busy herself. He glanced down to examine the body in his arms. They weren’t dead; their chest rose and fell at a slow, steady pace. Fluffy chestnut locks, adorned with a gold laurel crown, brushed across closed eyes and dirt-stained skin. Their white tunic, slightly muddy from the fall, draped over goosebumped arms and legs. Link pressed his lips together. What was this...thing? Person? 

Zelda beckoned Link to place them onto the blanket. Now in the light, Link could fully see the strange splendor of this person’s wings. It didn’t resemble Rito feathers in the slightest. They were more rounded at the top, and the feathers much shorter. It strangely reminded him of the Goddess statues placed in the major towns across Hyrole. They looked...otherworldly. He would’ve stared at this mysterious being longer if Zelda had brought him out of his daze. 

“They’re out cold,” mumbled Zelda, examining the body. “What could they be?”

Link crouched down next to her as they investigated further. Large gold cuffs adorned the figure’s forearms and biceps, and strapped to their back was a strange looking weapon of sort. A golden piece of tempered metal, sharp on both ends. Link could only wonder what it was. “Are they hurt?” Link asked. 

Zelda carefully slipped the tunic down to look for any signs of injury. Aside from a large bruise on the person’s back, they seemed fine. Zelda instructed for Link to fetch some ice and an extra blanket, and as she waited, she studied them a little more. The pristine shine of gold on almost every accessory, the mysterious weapon that seemed to have no handle or definitive blade...it all seemed so otherworldly. Her eyes drifted up to their face. They looked Hylian or enough. 

“You were crying,” Zelda said softly to the still figure, brushing a gentle finger over tear-stained cheeks. 

It wasn’t long before Link came back with the needed supplies. Zelda asked him to tend to their guest while she finished up her proposal to Bludo. It needed to be done as soon as possible, she told him. Link did as his princess told him: he slid the ice underneath the “Hylian”’s body and cleaned the dirt and mud off of their arms, legs, and face. Link attempted to take the golden blade sort of thing off of their tunic, as it seemed it would be uncomfortable, but he found he couldn’t move it from underneath their body. After a little while, Link gave up and just threw the extra blanket on top of their body. 

“Let’s get to bed,” Link said, walking over to the table where Zelda was working. “It’s getting late.”

Zelda took a moment before replying. She scribbled down one last sentence before letting out a loud yawn. “But Link,” she said, looking at him with intent eyes, “what about our guest over there? How should we deal with them? What if they wake up in the middle of the night?” 

Link pressed his lips together in thought. “I’ll keep watch over them, and if anything happens, I’ll take care of it.”

“But Link! You need to get your sleep too-” Zelda insisted, but her protests were met with the steely gaze of her knight that she had come to know. She couldn’t argue with that. “Link,” she tried again, reaching out and taking one of his hands, “you really do need your rest. You’ve been working so hard lately."

“I...uh…” Link stammered, his face slightly going pink at the princess’s touch. “It’s fine, Princess,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s my duty to protect you.” 

At the word “duty,” Zelda frowned a bit, a looming image of her father crossing her mind. Her hand balled into a fist under the table as she tried to keep her face stoic. “If you insist,” she relented, making eye contact with him once again. “I’ll excuse your duties tomorrow so you can get some rest, and I’ll have another soldier send over my proposition. That should take care of everything.” She stood up and began to tidy up her workspace. “Oh, and Link? Wake me up if anything happens. I want to be there to help sort this out.”

Link simply nodded at her, and as she left to go wash up for bed, he headed over and took a seat with a clear view of the cranny under the staircase. Long stretches of waiting through the night weren’t new to Link; he’d spent many an evening huddled underneath a tree or taking shelter in a shrine. At least he had a roof over his head and a warm place to be. He made himself busy by perusing through monster reports from around Hyrule and, once he was sure Zelda was asleep, snooping through her proposals. Their dog, Twilight, sleepily wandered over to Link and jumped into his lap. Link spent the next few hours combing his fingers through Twilight’s fluffy coat, reading through Zelda’s notes, and stealing glances at the unconscious visitor under their stairs. He had an odd feeling about them, but he just couldn’t put a finger on it…

Link was starting to doze off a little when Twilight suddenly jumped off of his lap and scampered over to the stairs. “What is it, Twi?” Link muttered, rubbing his eyes. As he walked over, the strange Hylian began to stir. Link instantly bolted up the stairs and gently shook Zelda awake.

“Link?” Zelda asked sleepily, looking at her knight. Link motioned over to the staircase and Zelda realized immediately. They rushed down the stairs just as their guest was coming to their senses. 

The strange visitor finally opened their eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link and Zelda meet their mysterious visitor for the first time, but Link feels oddly uncomfortable around him...

“L...Lady Palutena…” they muttered, stirring awake slowly, “I’m not...it’s not…”

The strange visitor finally opened their eyes. Sapphire blue eyes, slightly cloudy from sleep, met Link and Zelda’s gaze. With a start, they finally realized where they were. Or, rather, where they weren’t. 

“W-What? Lady Palutena? Are you there? I must’ve taken a tumble!” They sat up with a start. Frantically they looked around, clearly confused at their surroundings. Their boyish, childish voice shook in fear. “Where am I?”

Zelda kneeled down and put a hand on his leg, looking him in the eye in an attempt to calm him. “You’re in Hateno Village, in the kingdom of Hyrule. We found you unconscious outside of our house.” 

Link merely observed behind Zelda, a hand brushing over the Master Sword. Their guest could be dangerous. He must keep a lookout for any danger. 

“Hyrule? Where’s Hyrule?” 

Zelda raised an eyebrow. “Let’s start with something more simple, okay? I’m Zelda, and this is Link. What is your name?”

A beat of silence passed before he replied, “Pit!”

“Pit, I see. Nice to meet you.” Zelda gave him a smile, one of politeness as opposed to sincerity. “You don’t look like you’re from around here. Where are you from?”

Twilight, ever curious, poked his nose at Pit and began sniffing him. Pit seemed to take great delight in this and started petting the big grey dog. “I’m from Skyworld. Angel Land, if you wanna be more specific.”

The princess shot a glance at Link in worry. "Er...i see." She turned back to Pit and studied him with intent eyes. “Are you a Sheikah? A Hylian? A Rito?” Her green eyes scanned the angel up and down, searching for answers.

“A what now?”

From behind Zelda, Link furrowed his brow. “You have wings…” he muttered in a low voice, giving the angel a questioning stare.

Pit looked up at him, a curious look in his eyes. “Is that not normal?”

Link and Zelda exchanged an exasperated look. This conversation wasn't going as smoothly as they'd planned (although there wasn't much of one). Suddenly Pit realized something. A glimmer of realization shone in his eyes.

“OH! I get it! I’m on Earth, aren’t I?” He suddenly broke out into a smile. “So you must be humans then!” 

“I...yes?” 

Pit stood up off the ground and stretched his body, his wings fluffing up as he did so. “Now that makes more sense!” he said as he rolled his neck and jumped up and down a bit. A look of discomfort crossed his face as he felt the bruises from the night before. “Ouch. I really did take a tumble, didn’t I?”

Link looked at him as Pit shook out his limbs and gave his wings a quick ruffle, trying to discern if there was anything suspicious about him. “What are you?” he couldn’t help but ask. 

“Oh! I’m an angel!” Pit proudly puffed his wings, a faint golden glow making the feathers gleam. “Servant to the Goddess of Light!”

Zelda gasped. “You’re...you’re Hylia’s servant?”

The angel couldn't help but jolt at Zelda's sudden awe at the mention of the goddess. Perhaps she got the wrong name? “Um...Hylia? Who’s Hylia?” Pit tilted his head. 

Link immediately gripped the Master Sword and pulled it out of its sheath, the mere action making Pit yelp in fright. 

“Link!” Zelda cried, grabbing his arm. “Please! Calm down.”

“Who are you?” Link demanded under his breath, locking eyes with Pit. He felt Zelda's urgent grip on his bicep, but he did not relent. 

Pit's eyes zeroed in on the tip of the sword, and he gulped. This human wasn't messing around! “I...I’m an angel. I’m the leader of Lady Palutena’s army. I don’t mean any harm. Really!” 

He began inching away from Link and Zelda and heading towards the door. “I really appreciate you guys looking out for me! I’ll be on my way!” He forced a laugh as he made his escape. Pit bolted out the door, and without question Zelda followed him. Link begrudgingly followed only to find Pit staring up at the morning sky. 

“Um, I hope you don’t mind me asking,” he chuckled, scratching his head, “but uh, how do you get up there?”

“Where?” Zelda cocked a brow. 

Pit pointed up towards the sky. 

Link leaned over and put a hand on Zelda’s shoulder. “Princess, do we really have time for this?” he asked her.

Zelda playfully smacked him for calling her "princess" and gave her knight a sigh. “Oh, Link. We'll be fine. He’s lost and probably harmless. We should try to help him.” Zelda motioned for Pit to come back into the house. “Why don’t you stay for a bit? Tell us more about yourself, and maybe we can help you.”

Pit brightened up at the idea, but a glance at Link made his excited eyes grow a tad scared. “Are you sure?” he asked sheepishly, his wings shrinking back. 

“Of course,” Zelda said. “We might be able to get you back to your home.”

Zelda instructed Link to stay outside prepare some food for the three of them as she went inside to chat with Pit. Link settled with making some mushroom risotto as Zelda and Pit made themselves comfortable at the table. As he watched over the pot, he kept stealing glances at the house. He felt uneasy around the angel. Something just didn’t sit right with him. 

Inside, the angel couldn't help but marvel at the interior decoration of the house. The quaint little bookshelves that stood stoutly against the wall, the stylish lights that illuminated the main room, the various pictures hung up around the house...all of it was so cozy. The multiple gear displays caught Pit's eye especially, but he didn't want to get too distracted. “So where are we?” Pit asked, adjusting the red and gold button that held up his tunic. "We said we're on Earth, but where exactly?"

The princess perked up and immediately began searching through the papers on the desk. “I believe I have a map...here!” She pulled out a large piece of paper from the big pile of work on her desk and smoothed it out. “This is a map of Hyrule. We’re right here,” she pointed, “in Hateno Village.” 

Pit’s eyes bugged out of their sockets. “Woah! Earth looks so much bigger once you’re actually on it! That’s crazy! I wonder if I’ve ever passed by here before.” He marveled at the crazy network of rivers, lakes, bridges, and...a volcano?! 

Link came in a few minutes later, a steaming pot of mushroom risotto in hand. He donned three bowls and three spoons and began to serve everybody, taking care not to spill anything on Zelda's work. Pit thanked him for the meal with a grateful smile. Link pretended to ignore it.

Zelda tapped her finger on the map. “So Pit, you said you were the servant to the Goddess, correct?”

“I sure am!”

“And what is your Goddess’s name? Pal…?”

“Lady Palutena,” Pit grinned, munching away at the food Link had prepared for them. The creamy, savory flavors made Pit gasp in delight. "Link!" he exclaimed, making the knight jump. “This is really good!”

Zelda laughed. “Yes indeed, Link is an exceptional cook. He’s a knight, a swordsman, a warrior, a hero, a chef. There’s nothing he can’t do!”

 _That’s certainly not true,_ Link thought to himself. 

“Getting back to the situation at hand, this very strange indeed,” Zelda continued. “Is it possible that you’re from a different time? A different universe, even?”

Pit asked, “Who’s your goddess? Maybe I can have a chat with her! I’ve become a little buddy-buddy with most of the gods myself!” He couldn’t help but feel a little prideful at his "celebrity" friends. 

Link scowled. _Who is this guy? Who does he think he is, barging in and claiming to be one with the gods?_

“Hylia,” Zelda replied, holding her breath. “The goddess Hylia. Do you know her?”

Pit thought a moment before shaking his head. “No, sorry. Doesn’t ring a bell. I’m sorry, Zelda-”

“Princess Zelda,” Link corrected loudly, causing both Zelda and Pit to glance towards him. 

Immediately, Pit’s face flushed pink. “O-Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t know you were royalty.” Pit kneeled before Zelda with a sheepish look. “My apologies, Princess.”

“That’s alright," she sighed, waving a hand dismissively. "The title doesn’t mean nearly as much as it did before.” Zelda took a sip from her cup. “The only explanation that I can think of is that you’re from another world of sorts. We know of no Lady Palutena, and angels to us are a myth.”

"Ow," Pit clutched his heart jokingly. "That hurt!" 

No one else seemed to find it funny.

"Uh, anyways...ahem...if I'm down here, and not in Skyworld, in a place that doesn't know who Lady Palutena is..." He thought about it for a few moments, his brain working overtime. Pit’s face fell, realizing what the situation meant. “Oh no! I have to get back to Skyworld! Back to Lady Palutena! She's all alone up there! Who's gonna lead her army now?” 

As the angel began fretting over his predicament, Link couldn’t help but look at Pit and think to himself, _Him? Lead an army? He doesn’t look to be the type. He doesn’t even look like he can take a punch!_

“Please, Princess,” begged Pit, “please help me find my way home.” He looked towards Link. “I know this isn’t exactly a fair quest since I have nothing to give you in return right now, but please!”

_Huh,_ Link thought. _How did he know…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah hello everyone! here's chapter two! i know not much has happened but!! i hope there is enjoyment to be had nevertheless. this is just a bit of a passion project/self-indulgent fic, just something for fun! so yes! thank you!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zelda, Link, and Pit run into some trouble on their way to Rito Village :0

“Something must have happened to Lady Palutena up in Skyworld,” Pit said aloud, knitting his eyebrows together. “I never could have gone here on my own.”

“Do you remember what happened leading up to you being here?” Zelda asked. 

Remember. That was a word Link heard a lot. From Zelda, from King Dorephan, from Impa, from almost every single person who recognized him. He was tired of not being able to remember everything. 

Pit tried to recall. “It was really windy in Skyworld…” he said, closing his eyes to try and remember. “I was out on patrol, looking out for danger. I saw...purple. Purplish red goop flying through the air. I was about to shoot it down when I felt the power of flight run out. I called out for help, but no one answered me.” 

“Power of flight?” 

The angel blushed. “I...uhm...I can’t really fly on my own. Lady Palutena uses her powers to allow me to fly for five minutes.”

Link hummed. _Interesting. An angel who can’t fly._

“Purple-red substance...could it be Ganon?” Zelda thought out loud, racking her brain. “That’s impossible, though.”

“What’s that?”

Zelda shuddered just thinking about it. “Hatred and malice incarnate. An evil being named Ganon has plagued this land for millennia-” 

“It’s a long story,” Link interrupted. He did his best to ignore Zelda’s annoyed expression. _Forgive me, Zelda..._ Link gulped.

The angel looked down at his lap. “Sounds pretty evil…” Pit said, earning confused looks from both Zelda and Link. Twilight tilted his head. 

“Well, Pit," Zelda said, her voice sympathetic, "as much as we would like to look further into this, I’m afraid we simply don’t have the time. We are working on rebuilding the kingdom after we’ve purged it of evil.” She raised her eyes up to meet Pit’s, whose expression seemed hurt for a split second. “Link and I can take you to Rito Village. You can talk to the elder there.”

“Then what?”

The princess tapped her map absentmindedly. “I’m afraid there is not much we can do to help you from there.”

Link leaned over and whispered to Zelda, whose face fell into something of confusion and disappointment. 

“But, Link…”

The knight whispered some more.

She sighed. “We will take you to Rito Village," she said finally, her eyes going back to their normal determined gaze, "but our paths must split from there. Let’s go, quickly.” 

Pit’s eyes darted from Zelda to Link, sensing that they were not exactly enjoying his presence. “Uh...ok?” he shrugged, getting up from his chair and straightening out his tunic. He took one last glance around their cozy little home, wondering if this is what every human home looked like. Twilight jumped up at Pit, who smiled at the gesture. “See ya, doggy!” Pit said to Twilight, giving him a good head scratch. “You’re such a good dog!” Twilight barked happily in response. _At least someone likes me here..._ Pit thought to himself as he patted Twilight one last time, finally pulling away and joining Link and Zelda as they exited the house.

The morning sun shone gently on the village. The sky, dotted with thin clouds, promised clear weather for the trio’s journey. Pit caught himself gawking at the sight of such a serene image. A peaceful sky. A village just waking up from its slumber. Trees and rivers and flowers and-

“Come, Pit,” Zelda said loudly, snapping the angel out of his daze. She’d mounted herself on her white horse, holding the ornate reigns in her hands with urgency. “You can ride on Epona with Link.”

As if on cue, Link appeared from the small stable on the side of the house, a brown horse with a white mane in tow. He didn’t look all too pleased to be sharing his horse. After mounting Epona, Link put his hood up and looked at Pit dead in the eye. “Have you ridden a horse before?” he asked, his voice flat.

“Uhh...do unicorns count?”

Link stared at him a moment, not sure how to process this...interesting question. “Sure, I guess. Get on.” 

Pit hopped onto Epona with ease and swung his legs. “Alright, where to again?”

“Rito Village,” said the princess, nudging her horse forwards. “Let’s head out.” 

And so they were off. Zelda told Pit that it would be quite a ways from where they were, as Rito Village and Hateno Village were on opposite sides of the kingdom. 

The first stretch of the journey was mostly a silent one. For once, Pit had ceased talking, instead opting to take in the scenic view of Hyrule. He never spent much time on earth save fighting the Underworld Army, so the vast beauty of it all seemed so surreal. The large stretches of grass were so green, the mountains were so tall! And there were birds! And bugs! And innocent-looking hitchhikers that Link sped past at record pace! Pit looked on in awe. Earth looked so much more beautiful from here. Earth from Skyworld seemed so distant, but here! It was a sight to behold.

In the early afternoon, Link insisted that they stop at one of the stables for the horses to rest, saying that he needed to buy supplies from an old friend. He observed in awe at how casually Link chatted with stable workers and various traveling salespeople. Zelda rolled her eyes when she saw Link talking to a certain salesman.

“Link, we’ve been over this!” Zelda said, loud and clear. Both Link and the salesman jumped. She eyed her knight with a stern gaze. “We need those beetles for research!” Link tried to convince her to let the salesman have just one, but Zelda wouldn’t relent. Pit found the whole thing a little confusing.

Begrudgingly agreeing with Zelda, Link purchased a few bundles of arrows from Beedle (without giving him any beetles) and went to retrieve the horses. Then the trio were off on their merry way once more. 

Link hadn’t realized how much he’d missed traveling. With the occasional exception of accompanying Zelda on her business trips, Link spent the majority of his time helping train the new generation of the Hyrulian army. It was the closest to his “old” life he’d ever felt. Any excuse to hit the road again, even if it’s to help some strange angel find his way back into the skies, was a welcome one.

“Princess Zelda?” Pit asked, finally breaking his silence. Zelda turned to him with a smile.

“Yes?”

“The whole evil curse guy...you said it was a long story, but we’re on a long journey, so could you tell me about it?”

“Ah.” Zelda tilted her chin up slightly, turning on her “scholar” mode. “Ahem. This land of Hyrule has been cursed by an evil being named Ganon. Ten thousand years ago, it attacked this land and nearly ruined it, but Hyrule came out victorious. One hundred years ago, it came back, much stronger than ever, and brought Hyrule to its knees.” She paused, possibly thinking about the tragedy of all, possibly for dramatic effect. “A month ago, the Calamity Ganon was finally sealed away.”

“Huh.” Pit thought aloud. “What took so long?”

Link grunted disapprovingly.

“We were devastated one hundred years ago. We prepared as best we could. The kingdom seemed to be ready to take on whatever the calamity brought, but we were overtaken instantly. We didn’t realize how strong the calamity had become.” Zelda sighed. “We didn't have a chance. So much was lost. My friends, my father, our kingdom...but there was still hope for us.”

Pit listened intently. 

“It was looking very bleak. Link was gravely injured, and we were surrounded. In the knick of time I was able to harness my power and keep us safe. We brought Link to a healing shrine, where he spent the last one hundred years in a deep slumber. He awoke with none of his memories, so I tried to help guide him back to me.” 

“Woah, that’s crazy!” Pit exclaimed. He leaned forward to look at the swordsman, sapphire eyes wide. “Have you gotten your memory back, Link?”

Link didn’t reply.

Pit flushed with embarrassment. “Uh...alrighty then…” he mumbled. “So Princess! What sort of powers do you have?”

“It’s a sealing power,” the princess replied. “Those with the blood of the goddess and the spirit of the hero are responsible for sealing away evil. That is where Link and I come in.” Pit’s eyes grew wide as she continued, “I am a descendant of the Goddess Hylia. And Link is the one with the spirit of the hero. Together we sealed away Ganon and brought peace to our land. His influence is still with us, however. Hyrule is only now beginning to be rebuilt.” She looked at Pit with determined eyes. “I am certain that Ganon has been sealed. That’s why I am concerned about what you’ve said. I fear that he has the power to destroy worlds beyond ours.”

Pit couldn’t believe his ears. “Wow! I really that weird purple stuff I saw in Skyworld was a prank. This Ganon guy sure sounds evil.”

“Speaking of evil…” Link grumbled, eyeing the path ahead. A horde of bokoblins on horseback roamed the plains, right in the way of the road. _This won’t do,_ Link thought to himself. He glanced at them quickly. There were four of them. One gold, two silver, and one black. Let’s see...two had bows and the other two seemed to have spears. _Nothing I can’t handle._

Pit yelped at the sight of the monsters. “What are those?” he screeched, gripping his golden weapon tightly in hand. The strange monsters took notice of their arrival and began approaching, swinging their weapons around wildly. Pit gulped. He didn’t expect such a calming landscape to have monsters everywhere! 

“Doesn’t matter,” Link hissed at him, cracking his neck. “I got this.”

Link leapt up into the air and pulled out his bow in one swift motion. He hung there for a second, suspended, string pulled back and eyeing his target, as if time itself moved more slowly. He fired off multiple shots before landing back down on Epona with a thump. The bokoblins were stunned, but not nearly dead. Link quickly scanned his opponents. He was gonna need something other than his bow.

“Zelda, royal halberd!” Link commanded, shielding an oncoming barrage of arrows. Zelda pulled out the Sheikah Slate in a flash, summoning the desired weapon instantly. The halberd materialized in her hand, and she tossed it to Link. The knight nudged Epona to charge straight towards the enemies, with Link spinning his spear as he rode. This knocked the bokoblins off of their horses and caused some serious damage. Pit sat there, stunned, watching the Hero of Hyrule plowing through enemies without even breaking a sweat. 

“I’ll help, Link!” Zelda called out to him, determined to do her part. The knight looked over his shoulder to see the princess summoning a remote bomb. Holding herself upright by the strength of her thighs alone, Zelda held the remote bomb under her arm and activated stasis. She froze the gold bokoblin in its tracks, the monster taking on a yellowish hue. Zelda dropped the remote bomb near the monster and charged away, detonating it after she was a safe distance. “Now, Link!”

Link steered Epona towards the stasised enemy, spear ready. “HYAH!” he grunted, releasing a flurry of jabs at the bokoblin. At the last stab, the bokoblin stumbled free from stasis, clearly near death. He left Zelda to deliver the killing blow in favor of taking down the other three. 

“Link! Do you need help? I’m pretty good at fighting if I do say so myself-”

“No,” Link shot him down, thrusting the halberd into the black bokoblin’s heart as they rode past. “Just stay out of the way.”

“Alright then, sorry.”

Link rolled his eyes. What was Pit’s deal? Now is not the time for playing around; they had monsters to fight! He pulled the halberd back out from the bokoblin and let the carcass fall limp to the ground. A silver bokoblin came running towards them, and Link stretched out an arm to stab him when…

He felt his halberd fracture upon impact with the bokoblin, sending the monster flying backwards. “Shit,” he muttered to himself. He’d forgotten how much health gold bokos had. _I need to get another spear,_ he thought to himself. He had the Master Sword, sure, but it wasn’t too useful on horseback. Link grabbed the reins and made a hard turn, heading towards Zelda. 

“Link, I don’t think that guy’s dead…” Pit said, seeing the bokoblin get up. 

“I know, Pit, that’s why I’m getting another weapon!” 

The silver bokoblin mounted its horse again, making a beeline for Pit and Link. Link urged Epona to go faster, but she thrashed around in denial. 

Link petted Epona’s mane as he looked for Zelda. She was just a few yards away, and was currently using magnesis to steal the bokoblin’s weapons. She’s right there, I might make it in time... “Come on, Epona…” Link urged her, hearing the _clomp clomp clomp_ of the other horse closing the gap. The monster was close enough for Link to hear its battle cry. 

Zelda glanced up from her fight, surprised to see the knight and the angel heading her way. _What’s the matter?_ she wondered, only to see them being chased by a boko on horseback. Then she realized. His weapon had broken.

“Oh no…” she whispered. Link was trying to reach her as fast as he could, but the bokoblin was faster. It swung its dragonbone spear wildly, knocking Pit off of Epona. He yelped a little as he crashed to the ground. With one down, the boko made his move on the champion.

“LINK!” Zelda cried, right as the bokoblin leapt up into the air. 

Before he could even react, the bokoblin screeched and faceplanted into the dirt. Link whipped around, bewildered, only to see Pit lying in the grass with his weapon in hand, holding it out like a bow. Pit pulled back, a gleaming arrow appearing out of thin air, and shot it at the enemy. To Link’s surprise, the arrow curved midair, perfectly hitting the bokoblin between the eyes. Pit jumped up and brushed off his tunic.

“Take this!” the angel shouted, pulling his bow apart to reveal a set of twin blades. “Bye now!”

The knight couldn’t help but stare in disbelief as Pit went to town on the monster, spinning his blades in rapid succession. “How the hell…” Link mumbled, his bewilderment cut off by the angel.

“Princess! Watch out!” Pit yelled. The last bokoblin was threatening to shoot the princess in the head. Zelda dodged the arrows and ducked to safety. 

Link grunted and refocused his energy on the problem at hand. He dismounted Epona and pulled out his Master Sword. The bokoblin was almost dead, thank Hylia. Link slashed once, twice, three times, letting out a loud shout. Finally, the bokoblin fell to the ground, dead. With a sigh of relief, Link sheathed the Master Sword and turned back towards the other two. Pit was fitting the two blades back together and chatting with Zelda. 

“You guys have monsters here, too?” Pit quipped, back to his cheery mood. “They’re a lot cuter here than where I’m from!”

The princess giggled. “Really? What are they like for you?” Zelda seemed fascinated. 

“Well, there are treasure chests with legs, big tentacle eye monster thingies, oh, and the eggplant wizard! The dreaded eggplant wizard…!”

Link frowned. _Who was this...Pit guy? Who does he think he is, suddenly appearing in Hyrule and getting himself into trouble?_

Zelda quickly grabbed Link’s hand and held it. “Link! Are you alright?” she asked, trying to examine him for any injuries. 

He gave her a curt nod. 

"And Pit? I saw you take a fall. Are you alright?"

Pit flapped his wings with a smug grin. "A little dirt never hurt me! I'm a-okay!"

“Great. Rito Village is this way. We should keep on going.” Zelda gave the two boys a firm nod as she headed off towards her horse.

Link mounted Epona, not making eye contact with the angel. He didn’t really know what to say to him. How did he do that? What was that weapon he wielded? 

“Wow, Link! You’re amazing!” Pit cried in excitement, hopping up onto Epona with a wide smile on his face. “You really are a hero, no doubt about it!”

Link didn’t reply, only giving the angel a glance. Without a word he caught up to Zelda, and the three resumed their journey. Even after they had all settled down, Link couldn’t get Pit’s words out of his head. 

_“You’re amazing! You really are a hero, no doubt about it”_

_What do you know of heroism, Pit?_ Link thought to himself bitterly. _What do you know?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ah hello! i hope this chapter wasn't too much of a mess. i decided to include some age of calamity-esque techniques with zelda since i think she'd be all for using the sheikah slate to fight off monsters! 
> 
> i was hoping to update this fic on a consistent-ish basis, but unfortunately that's not very much the case :( also, i always feel like i've written a good amount, but whenever i preview my work it always looks so short :/ well, i hope you like this nonetheless! 
> 
> let me know what you think of it all! and thank you so much for reading, i appreciate it a whole lot :)))


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